Gaelic Kingdoms

Outer Islands

Ynys Manau / Isle of Man

This moderate-sized island is located in the Irish Sea, midway between southern
Scotland and Ulster in Ireland. The Isle of Man (or Ynys Manau to the
post-Roman Britons
and later Welsh) was taken by the
Irish in the sixth century.
Before that, for a short time, it governed the southern Picts of
Galwyddel. That region was
absorbed into Rheged, but became
a dominion of Ynys Manau again from around 632 until circa 900, before
being taken into Strathclyde.

The fate for the Isle of Man was different. It was conquered during the
ninth century wave of Viking attacks, with local Viking rulers vying for
control of the island against stronger forces from Viking
Dublin,
York and
the Orkneys. Once Viking power had faded, Man became a political pawn
between England and
Scotland. However,
it retained its identity, with the last native Manx speaker reputedly dying as
recently as 1974.

fl c.400s?

Mannanan
/ Manawydan fab Llyr

Legendary first king of Ynys Manau.

Mannanan, or Mannanan mac Lir (Lir being the
Celtic sea god), is the legendary founder
of the Manx people, after whom the island is named, and the island's first
king. In Celtic mythology he is the god of the sea, not necessarily
surprising if he really was an early king of Man. Attributed to him are
dealings with the early Irish
High King, Cormac mac Airt, so it is possible that they were
contemporaries.

c.485 - 550

The son of Cinuit of Alt Clut,
Tutgwal Theodovellaunus, establishes himself in
Galwyddel, perhaps as a
legitimate division of Alt Clut on his father's death, an entirely normal and
customary practise in
Celtic
kingdoms. It also seems that he and his successors rule Manau at the same time.
Around 550, Galwyddel is invaded by
Rheged and annexed to
the kingdom, and the king, Sennylt, is forced to flee with his family to Ynys
Manau.

Llywarch Hen of
South Rheged counts
Ynys Manau as part of his holdings. However, towards the later years of his reign,
the Annals of Ulster record an expedition by the
Ulaid (in the form of
Báetán mac Cairill) to Ynys Manau. Báetán returns to
Ireland in 578 after
having imposed his authority on the island - temporarily as it transpires.
Shortly after his death, in 582 the island is taken by the
Dál Riata Scotti under Áedán mac
Gabráin and may be ruled by a client king or lesser member of the ruling family.
As Sennylt ap Dingat's family appear to retain their position, it must be they
who become the client kings.

A
young girl is buried in a sacred site on the island (now known as Mount
Murray) that dates back to the Bronze Age. Not only is the site sacred, it
is a Christian site, making this the earliest-known Christian burial on the
island. There may also be a wooden chapel nearby, which is the site that is
later re-used as a Viking keeill (chapel) and surrounding burial site (the
latter starting in use from about the eighth century). The young girl's
grave remains remarkably intact when it is excavated by archaeologists in
2006.

fl c.600

Dingad ap Nudd

Son.

It
appears that at the start of the seventh century, Manau is invaded by
Dál Riatan Scotti.
Dingad and his family are reputed to flee their kingdom (although
Manau is not specifically named) and take refuge in
Gwent, where they settle in
the role of minor chieftains.

Elidyr map Sandde map Alcwn map Tegid map Gwyar map Llywarch Hen is a direct
descendant of the last British king of
South Rheged. Elidyr's
son, Gwriad, becomes king of Gwynedd
in 815, still carrying the title, 'Heir to South Rheged'. Physical control of
the region, however, has long since fallen to
Northumbria,
although southern sections may be conquered by
Mercia during its ascendancy
around this time.

It is likely that the
heirs of
South Rheged abandon Ynys Manau around this time.
Attacks by
Danes are increasing,
while at the same time they conquer a base in Ireland
near the settlement of Dyflin.
The attacks on Ynys Manau lead swiftly to conquest,
settlement, and the founding of a Viking dynasty.

The Great Army of Ivarr the Boneless, king of
Dublin,
are fresh from sacking the capital of
Alt Clut when
they venture on to invade Ynys Manau. The island falls to them in the same
year and Norse
vassal kings are installed.

King
Haraldr Hárfagri campaigns across the seas to hunt down those opponents who
had fled
Norway in opposition to his unification of the country. They have been
raiding Norway's coast since then, causing considerable damage. Haraldr has
been carrying out regular summer expeditions against them, but around this
year, having tired of simply chasing them away, he pursues them to their
western bases.

His forces storm the islands of Hjaltland (Shetland) and clear them of
hostile Vikings. Then he does the same on the Orkneys, plunders the Sudreys
(Hebrides), chases down Vikings across
Scotland,
and finds that Vikings on the Isle of Man have fled before him. As
compensation for the death in battle of Ivar, son of Jarl Ragnvald of Møre,
Haraldr gives Ragnvald the Orkney and Shetland Isles. He in turn hands them
to Sigurd, his brother, who remains there to govern them.

The
Vikings on Man convert to Christianity, and the island quickly contains up to
two hundred keeills (a derivation of the word chapel) that are built at the centre
of Viking burial sites that themselves have been in use as far back as the eighth
century. The keeill at Mount Murray is the only one to survive untouched into the
modern age so that it can be excavated by archaeologists. The rest of Man's keeills
are dug up, mostly by Victorian antiquaries. The keeill is a small stone chapel with
turf wall buttresses, while the burials lay outside a ditch that surrounds the keeill.
Many keeill sites re-use pre-existing burial sites, and they remain in use until
about the twelfth century.

The
Norse
kings of Man & the Isles establish independent control under distant Scandinavian
overlordship when Godred invades the island three times and, following two
defeats, he seizes control. He establishes the 'Kingdom of Man & The Isles'. Then he turns his attentions to conquering
Dublin.

The
Annals of Ulster record that the grandsons of Ragnall, the kings of
Dublin, are killed on an
expedition to attack Ynys Manau. Godred Crovan, in turn invades Dublin and
takes the kingship until he too is kicked out. He dies the following year.

The attack and conquest of Dublin by Godred Crovan would have
been launched from longboats just like this

King
Alexander III of Scotland
successfully defeats an invasion by Haakon of
Norway
at the Battle of Largs in 1263. Following this, the Treaty of Perth
transfers the Hebrides and the Isle of Man to Scotland from Norway.
From this point the Isle of Man is controlled directly from either Scotland
or England,
as the two nations vie for power.

1275

The son
of Magnus III is Godfrey Magnuson. He attempts to seize the island by force,
but the Battle of Ronaldsway, near Castletown, forever ends Manx independence.

Man
is under
the control of Scotland,
until it is retaken by Edward III of
England.

King of the Isles of ManAD 1334 - 1765

The Isle of Man passed to Edward III of
England in
1333. Edward invested local authority in the earl of Salisbury and his
descendants. While not
kings themselves, the unchanged traditions on the island titled them as
such, and gave them all the royal trappings that had been accorded to
their Viking predecessors.

1334 - 1344

William I

William Montague, earl of Salisbury.

1344 - 1393

William II

Earl of Salisbury. Died 1397.

1393 - 1399

William III

William le Scrope.

1392

William le Scrope constructs Peel Castle on the coastal St
Patrick's Isle. The islet site is already covered in ruins which date back
to around 1000, while the castle itself replaces an earlier Viking structure
built between 1095-1102 during the reign of King Magnus Barelegs.

The
Protectorate and Commonwealth of
Britain
takes direct control of the island, appointing a Puritan governor for most
of the duration of its existence. Following the
Restoration, the earls of Derby are reappointed to govern Man.

1651 - 1660

Thomas Fairfax

Puritan Governor.

1660 - 1672

Charles

Earl of Derby.

1672 - 1702

William V

Earl of Derby.

1702 - 1736

James II

Earl of Derby.

1736 - 1764

James III

James Murray, duke of Atholl.

1764 - 1765

John III

Duke of Atholl. Died 1774.

1765

John
III, the
final 'King of the Isles of Man'
is pressured by the
English crown into relinquishing the title
in return for a substantial payment. Direct
authority passes to the Crown, and the rampant smuggler trade which has made
the most of the island's independence is suppressed by governors.